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Workington man died of natural causes - inquest

A Workington man died of natural causes after suffering an enlarged heart.

Michael John Westgarth, 46, of Cockfield Drive, Westfield, put on weight steadily after quitting smoking in 2009, an inquest heard, and he collapsed at his mother’s home. He died in hospital.

A post-mortem concluded that Mr Westgarth, who was obese, died from an enlargment of the muscle tissue that makes up the wall of the heart. The pathologist found that Mr Westgarth had fluid on his lungs and fibrosis of the muscle.

Mr Westgarth’s weight continued to rise steadily since he quit smoking going from 18 stones to nearly 19 stones this year.

His mother Mrs Westgarth, who rang the ambulance, said she was in “total shock” when her son collapsed at about 1.20pm on the day of his death.

Mrs Westgarth said: “He stood up, walked to get his keys, turned around and collapsed. He was one in a million.”

Mrs Westgarth told the inquest that Mr Westgarth would visit her three times a day and was a “caring man” and “good dad”. He has two daughters Tara, 20 and Heidi, 17, with his ex wife, and a sister and a brother.